When people want to extract oil from deep under the ocean, they use big machines that are called oil rigs. These rigs come with special equipment that allows them to dig deep down into the sea floor and locate oil. Occasionally, things can go awry and a big problem known as a blowout can occur. A blowout is when more oil begins rushing out of the rig than can be contained. It can ruin the environment and put lives at risk.
Enter the blowout preventer. The blowout preventer is a special machine located on the oil rig which stops a blowout from occurring. It’s akin to a giant stopper that could plug a well and prevent oil from spewing into the ocean — potentially for a long time.
Blowout preventers are composed of various parts that cooperate in order to protect the oil rig. The hydraulic system is one important element. This system uses so-called special fluids to move the underwater blowout preventer and make it function.
There are also powerful rams that can seal the well in an emergency. Another is an annular preventer that, as the name suggests, seals the well by squeezing it closed as though it were a giant rubber band. Together, all these components work to make sure oil rigs are kept safe and oil spills avoided.
The hydraulic sys- tem feels the danger and shifts the rams or the annular preventer to shut in the well and kill the oil in. This rapid response is crucial to ensure that a blowout does not become a major oil spill and send oil globs across the planet; one might beguile the environment and wildlife for years.
Unfortunately, there have been episodes when blowout preventers have not prevented a blowout and instead we had big oil spills and environmental catastrophes. One high-profile example is the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A blowout preventer on an oil rig malfunctioned, and millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico.
This disaster was bad for the environment, for wildlife, and for the economy of local communities that depend on ocean-related employment. It also revealed the importance of capable blowout preventers and the need to maintain them properly to preclude further accidents.
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